CATFISH BEND CASINOS, L.C. RULES OF THE GAME FOUR CARD POKER TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction FCP - 2 Definitions FCP - 2 Cards; Number of Decks FCP - 3 Shuffle Procedures FCP - 3 Four Card Poker Rankings FCP 4 Wagers FCP - 5 Dealing Procedures FCP - 5 Procedures for Completion of Each Round FCP - 6 Payout Odds FCP - 7 Irregularities FCP - 7 IRGC Signature Date Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 1
INTRODUCTION Four Card Poker is an exciting stud poker game that offers three ways to play and four different ways to win. Players may bet against the Dealer or bet on the value of their own hand or both. Bonus payouts may be had for certain hands when wagering against the Dealer. To play against the Dealer, the player places an Ante wager. After looking at his hand the player may fold, or if he thinks his hand is high enough to beat the Dealer, place a wager on the Play spot. If the player s hand beats the Dealer s hand, he wins both wagers. The Dealer always qualifies and the player always wins on ties. To play the hand value only and not against the Dealer, the player places a wager on the Aces Up spot. If his hand contains a pair of Aces or better, the player wins. To play both, the player bets the Ante and the Aces Up spots. The player must make a Play wager if he has placed Ante and Aces Up wagers, or he forfeits both. When placing both bets followed with a Play wager, the player is playing against two separate pay tables. The Ante and Aces Up wagers do not have to be the same amount. A winning Aces Up hand will win regardless of whether the player s hand beats the Dealer s hand. DEFINITIONS The Following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the content clearly indicates otherwise: Ante wager - the wager a player is required to make prior to any cards being dealt in order to compete against the Dealers hand in a round of play. Hand - the four-card poker hand held by each player and the Dealer after the cards are dealt. Aces up wager - the wager a player is required to make prior to any cards being dealt in order to compete against a posted scale of payouts, regardless of the outcome of the player s hand against the Dealer. Play wager - an additional wager, which wager must be in the amount of one, two or three times the Ante wager, a player must make if the player opts to remain in competition against the Dealer after the player reviews his/her hand. Automatic Bonus - paid if both the Ante wager and Play wagers were bet and the player s hand hold Four-of-a-kind, Straight Flush or Three-of-a-kind. The player gets paid odds on what they had bet on the Ante wager. Automatic bonus payouts are always paid, even if the player s hand loses. Round of play - one complete cycle of play during which all wagers have been placed, all cards have been dealt and all remaining wagers have been paid off or collected in accordance with this subchapter. Stub - the remaining portion of the deck after all cards in the round of play have been dealt or delivered. Suit - one of the four categories of cards: clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 2
CARDS; NUMBER OF DECKS 1) Except as provided in (2) below, Four Card Poker shall be played with one 52-card deck of cards with backs of the same color and design and one additional cut card to be used in accordance with the procedures set forth in Shuffle Procedures below. 2) A second deck of cards may be used to play the game, provided that: a) Each deck of cards complies with the requirements of (1) above; b) The backs of the cards in the two decks are of different color; c) One deck is being shuffled by the automated card shuffling device while the other deck is being dealt or used to play the game; d) Both decks are continuously alternated in and out of play, with each deck being used for every other round of play; and e) The cards from only one deck shall be placed in the discard rack at any given time. SHUFFLE PROCEDURES Whenever possible, an automated card-shuffling device will be used to shuffle the decks of cards used in Four Card Poker. Should the automated shuffling machine become disabled, manual-shuffling procedures will be followed. Since the Dealer is shuffling the cards after every round of play, it will not be necessary to call shuffle before shuffling the cards. MANUAL SHUFFLING PROCEDURES The shuffle will consist of: 1. The Dealer taking 1/3 of the cards from the bottom of the deck and placing them on top of the remaining 2/3, squaring the deck and riffling. 2. Repeat 1 above. 3. The deck will be stripped five times 4. Repeat 1 above. 5. The Dealer will then set the cut card to the right of the deck. Using one hand, the Dealer will take approximately half of the deck from the top and place it on top of the cut card to conceal the bottom card. Then again with one hand, the Dealer will place the lower half of the deck on top of what was the upper half. The Dealer will always attempt to cut the deck as close to the middle as possible. Player NEVER cut the cards. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 3
FOUR CARD POKER RANKINGS 1) The rank of the cards used in Four Card Poker, in order of highest to the lowest rank, shall be: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. All suits shall be considered equal in rank. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an ace may be used to complete a straight flush or a straight with a two or three. 2) The permissible poker hands in the game of Four Card Poker, in order of highest to lowest rank, shall be: a. Four-of-a-kind - A hand consisting of four cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, with four aces being the highest ranking four-of-a-kind and four two s being the lowest ranking four-of-a-kind. b. Straight flush - A hand consisting of four cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking, with ace, king, queen and jack being the highest-ranking straight flush and four, three, two and ace being the lowest ranking straight flush. b. Three-of-a-kind - A hand consisting of three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, with three aces being the highest ranking three-of-a-kind and three two s being the lowest ranking three-of-a-kind. c. Flush - A hand consisting of four cards of the same suit, regardless of rank. d. Straight - A hand consisting of four cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit, with ace, king, queen and jack being the highest ranking straight and four, three, two and ace being the lowest ranking straight. e. Two pair - A hand consisting of two sets of two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, where the two sets are of different ranks with a pair of aces along with a pair of kings being the highest ranking two pair and two three s and two two s being the lowest ranking two pair. f. Pair - A hand consisting of two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, with two aces being the highest-ranking pair and two two s being the lowest ranking pair. g. High Card - A hand that is none of the above and is a weak hand. If no player has a pair or better then the hand that contains the highest-ranking card wins. If multiple players tie with the highest card, then the second highest card decided, followed by the third and so on. 3) When comparing two hands that are of identical hand rank pursuant to the provisions of (2) above, or that contain none of the hands authorized in (2) above, the hand that contains the highest ranking card as provided in (1) above that is not contained in the other hand shall be considered the higher ranking hand. If the hands are of identical rank after the application of this subsection, the hands shall be considered a tie. The player wins all ties. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 4
WAGERS 1) Minimum and maximum wagers will be posted at the table. 2) The following wagers may be placed in the game of Four Card Poker: a. A player may compete solely against the Dealer by placing an Ante wager, which wager may be in any amount within the posted minimum and maximum wagers and then placing a play wager, which wager may be one, two or three times the Ante wager; b. A player may place an Aces Up wager, which wager may be in any amount within the posted minimum and maximum wagers, which will win if the player s hand contains a pair of Aces or better; or c. A player may wager both against the Dealer and the chance that he ll get a pair of Aces or better by placing wagers in accordance with the requirements of both (1) a and b above. 3) All wagers at Four Card Poker shall be made by placing gaming checks on the appropriate betting areas of the table layout. A verbal wager accompanied by cash shall not be accepted. 4) Only players who are seated at a Four Card Poker table may wager at the game. Once a player has placed a wager and received cards, that player shall remain seated until the completion of the round of play. 5) No Ante or Aces Up wagers shall be made, increased or withdrawn after play has begun. 6) All Play wagers shall be placed in accordance with the Procedures for Completion of each Round described below. 7) Catfish Bend Casino may, at its discretion, permit a player to place wagers at two betting positions during a round of play provided that the two betting positions are adjacent to each other. DEALING PROCEDURES AUTOMATED SHUFFLER PROCEDURES 1) The deck will be placed in the holding compartment of the shuffling machine. 2) The Shuffle button will be pressed to start the shuffle process. 3) Once the first hand has been dealt, play has begun. 4) Once play has begun, no more bets are allowed. 5) The dealing process will proceed with the Shuffling machine automatically dispensing five cards, one at a time, and then pausing until the five cards are removed and placed on the layout. The removal of the dealt hand from the shuffling machine will allow the next hand to be dealt. 6) Each hand will be removed from the shuffling machine and placed face down in front of each player who has placed a wager, starting with the player farthest to the Dealer s left and continuing Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 5
clockwise around the table. The Dealer will spread each hand as it is placed in front of each player to verify that five cards were dealt. 7) The Dealer shall then deliver himself/herself a stack of five cards face down. The Dealer will then place a second stack of five cards face down next to his/her first five-card hand. He/She will take the top card from the second stack and place it face up on top of his/her first five-card hand. The Dealer will spread the remaining cards to verify that there are four cards remaining and then place the four cards in the discard rack. 8) The Dealer will then press the green End of Deal button, which will cause the shuffler to eject the remaining cards. The Dealer will then place the stub in the discard rack without exposing the cards. MANUAL PROCEDURES 1. The Dealer will, starting with the player farthest to his/her left and continuing around the table in a clockwise manner, deal each player, including the Dealer, one card face down and repeat the process until each player has five cards. 2. After five cards have been dealt to each player and the Dealer, the Dealer will deal himself/herself one card face up. 3. The Dealer will count down the stub to determine that there are 52 cards in the deck. If the count of the stub indicates that 52 cards are in the deck, the stub will be placed in the discard rack. 4. If the count of the stub indicates that the number of cards in the deck is incorrect, the Dealer will call the supervisor. If the supervisor determines that the cards have been misdealt, all hands shall be considered void. If it is found the count is after all correct, the hand is valid and play will continue. PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION OF EACH ROUND 1) After the dealing procedures have been completed, each player shall examine his/her cards. Each player who wagers at Four Card Poker shall be responsible for making the best hand possible out of his/her five cards and presenting them to the Dealer. No person other than the Dealer and the player to whom the cards were dealt may touch the cards of that player. 2) After examination of his/her cards, each player who has placed an Ante wager shall have the option to either make a Play wager in an amount of one, two or three times the Ante wager and continue the game, or fold and withdraw from that round and forfeit the Ante wager. (In the unlikely event the player folds with a pair or Aces or better, he forfeits the Ante, but his Aces Up bet will win.) The Dealer shall offer this option to each player, starting with the player farthest to the left of the Dealer and moving clockwise around the table in order. After each player has either placed a wager on the table in the Play wager area or folded his/her hand, the Dealer shall collect all forfeited wagers and associated cards, placing the cards in the discard rack. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 6
3) The Dealer shall then reveal the Dealer s cards and arrange his/her cards from the highest card value to the lowest and announce his/her best four-card hand. The two cards the Dealer doesn t use will be placed behind his/her live hand. 4) The Dealer will then reconcile the hands of those players who have not folded. Starting with the player on the Dealer s right, the Dealer will bring the player s hand into the work area between the Dealer s hand and the Aces Up wager area of the player and reveal the player s cards. 5) Starting with the furthest bet and moving inward (Play, Automatic Bonus, Ante, Aces Up) the Dealer takes losing wagers then pays winning wagers. The cards are then picked up and placed in the discard rack and the Dealer follows this procedure with the next player to the left. After all players hands have been acted on, the Dealer picks up his/her cards and places them in the discard rack. PAYOUT ODDS ANTE plus PLAY: Player folds ANTE wager loses Player s hand beats OR ties Dealer s hand PLAY wins 1 to 1 ANTE wins 1 to 1 Dealer s hand beats player s hand PLAY wager loses ANTE wager loses ACES UP: If the player s hand contains a pair of Aces or better, the player wins the Aces Up wager. Players receive Aces Up payouts regardless of the Dealer s hand. Four of a Kind pays 50 to 1 Straight Flush pays 30 to 1 Three of a Kind pays 7 to 1 Flush pays 6 to 1 Straight pays 5 to 1 Two pair pays 2 to 1 Pair of Aces pays 1 to 1 AUTOMATIC BONUS: The following hands will be paid an automatic bonus. These payouts are made against the ANTE wager. Automatic bonus payouts are always paid, even if the player s hand loses. Four of a Kind pays 25 to 1 Straight Flush pays 20 to 1 Three of a Kind pays 2 to 1 IRREGULARITIES If any hand is dealt an incorrect number of cards, the round will be declared a misdeal and all hands will be void. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 7
If a card is exposed upon dealing to the player or Dealer, all hands will be void. If the automated card-shuffling device malfunctions, all hands will be void and the cards shall be reshuffled. If the automated card-shuffling device becomes non-operational, the game shall be shuffled and dealt manually. If a player places cards down on the play betting spot and does not back up their ante bet, the Dealer will ask the player if they are staying in or folding their hand. Approved by IRGC on 12/15/2009 to be effective 02/01/2010 FCP - 8